I have been to many BJJ Gyms around the world. I wanted to focus more on No-Gi Jiu Jitsu when I came to NYC. So, I decided to give 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in NYC a shot.
I was training with them for 5 weeks. I was there almost every day. I sometimes went twice a day. I made so much progress during my time there; it’s incredible. Therefore, I’ll forever be grateful to everybody there with me.
Today, I want to give you an honest look into the question: Is training at 10th Planet in NYC worth it? I’ll share everything I did and didn’t like there.
Schedule, Location & Pricing
Schedule
In terms of training, you get spoiled there. During the week, they have 3 classes daily (morning, midday, and evening). Sometimes, they also have two evening classes. One is for absolute beginners, and one is for advanced.
The head coaches, Rey and Cece, coach during the week, and on the weekends, I got trained from blue and purple belts from the academy. On weekends, they have classes assigned to leglocks and their famous rubber guard.
Also, they now have a complete beginner intro class taught by a Marcelo Garcia black belt (Monday and Wednesday evening) – it’s nice for those of you who have never done Jiu Jitsu. I joined one of them – it’s 45 minutes of drilling, no rolling, and he explains the basics well.
So you have everything there: beginner and advanced classes, leglock, rubber guard, and EBI-overtime classes. So, if you’re into No-Gi, they cover everything.
Location
The location is perfect – It’s right next to Bryant Park. I was living in Queens at the time, and the connections there were easy and straightforward. Just don’t miss the little 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu sign at the entrance ( I missed it twice and came late for my first class). Then, go up; it’s on the 4th floor.
However, NYC is not known for having a lot of space. Their Gym is quite small. The evening classes are packed. It was hard not to bump into each other when rolling. So I’d recommend you go to the midday and morning classes – they are more chill, and you’ll have more space.
But what’s cool is – they have two mats – sometimes in the evening they have 2 classes at the same time. Sometimes, I see people just rolling on the second mat. I liked that you could just go there and roll with somebody outside of class.
Pricing
It’s expensive to train there, like everything in NYC. But if you go often, it’s worth it. In 5 weeks, I had about 30 training sessions. So if in the end I only paid about 5 USD per training session.
Training Structure at 10th Planet NYC
Their training structure is unique, and I liked it. You do only a little warm-up, sometimes none (so if you believe in proper warm-up before practice, you won’t gonna like that). After you do 45 minutes of drilling/ positional sparring, After they end the official class, people get to roll freely.
Sometimes I rolled for 2 rounds, sometimes 10 rounds, and sometimes I didn’t roll. I liked that they did a cut between class and rolling. In other academies, I felt pressured to stay until the end.
Here, I could decide whether I wanted to roll or not. Sometimes, I skipped rolling so I’m fresh for the evening classes.
Their classes are well-structured and short. I like short classes. At some other gyms, I trained in train for 2 – 2.5 hours, and after some time, my brain just shut down and didn’t process information as well anymore.
Sometimes, the problem with learning BJJ is that the classes lack structure. One day, you learn leg locks; the other, you learn back takes. Not here. In the midday class, we trained Guard passing and Guard retention for 3 weeks – there was a clear structure to it, and that’s how I got to put these techniques into my muscle memories.
Also, they don’t put too many techniques in one class. They focus on drilling one technique over and over again instead of doing many techniques for only a small amount of time.
My Experience at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in NYC
When I first came into the place, I was nervous. It’s always nerve-wracking to go to a new academy. But once I got in, Cece greeted me nicely and explained everything. She was very welcoming and friendly when I came in; she even gave me a week for free at the end.
I could feel that both Cece and Rey were passionate about teaching this beautiful art. Also, the other coaches were all super nice and supportive. Everybody knew I was just there for a limited time, but they still gave me a lot of time and attention.
I’ve never seen a Jiu Jitsu Gym with this kind of dedication. It was truly inspiring to witness. They go into competitions together, they challenge each other, and everybody gets celebrated for their progress. It’s very cool what Rey and Cece have built there at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in NYC.
The Gym has a lot of high-level grapplers. They have BJJ athletes in every colored belt level. But they don’t pay too much attention to belts, which I like. They focus more on getting better than worrying about belts.
Be aware that there are many different people. Some you’ll connect more and with some less. Even after 5 weeks of training there, I still saw new faces I hadn’t seen before. So, get used to rolling with a lot of strangers.
For the most part, everybody is friendly, though. I felt comfortable training there, and honestly, now, looking back at it, I miss it. I learned a lot during my time there, and that’s the most important thing.
So if u’d ask me – I’d recommend training there.
Just be aware, though, that there is only 1 shower. So that means the waiting time can be long, especially during the evening classes.
But don’t worry about hygiene. They clean their mats after every practice, and everybody follows the hygiene rules there. There was nothing in terms of hygiene I was concerned about.
Final Words
So, as I said, if you’re looking for a No-Gi Gym in NYC, 10th Planet is the place to go. Just approach them for a free trial class and see for yourself.
I felt comfortable asking my questions and approaching people over there. I’d recommend visiting the morning and midday classes during the week – they are much more personal, and I found it easier to connect with people there.
Just be aware that you’ll be rolling with many strangers, that the space is limited, and that the price only becomes affordable if you commit to coming often. It doesn’t make sense if you only come once or twice a week.
Please reach out if you have any questions regarding training in 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in NYC. I’m happy to guide you.
